Fans of Peter Bagge’s generation-defining, satirical fiction may not realize this, but the cartoonist doubles as an opinionated cuss, and has been contributing provocative (but still hilarious) comic-strip opinion pieces to Reason magazine for the last several years... finally collected in this volume.
Although a libertarian by inclination (hence the Reason gig), Bagge (who lives in the fuzzy-headed, liberal capital of the Northwest, Seattle) is hardly dogmatic, and many of the pieces undermine traditional party lines in favor of a rather personal, rational and informed take on hot-button issues that will force partisan Democrats and Republicans alike to rethink them. And of course, Bagge’s well-researched comic strip “essays” crackle with the same energy and wit that propelled him into the collective Gen X consciousness with his comic book series Hate.
Favorite topics include the erosion of our civil liberties (whether the post-9/11 Bush administration's gradual erosion of the Bill of Rights, the insanity of the war on drugs, or nanny-state meddling), ongoing boondoggles of the American public (for professional sports stadiums or ineffective public transportation systems), the Iraq war (Bagge is vociferously against it), so-called art and so-called entertainment, the homeless, the mall-ification of America, politicians both in general and in particular (including the 2008 presidential race and a revelatory one-on-one with Republican not-so-hopeful Ron Paul that soured Bagge on the candidate forever), the conservative/religious war on sex and drugs, and whether citizens should be allowed to own bazookas. Each piece features the voluble Bagge himself front and center as the puzzled, indignant, or deeply conflicted everyman-on-the-street trying to make sense of this 21st Century.
And of course, every panel is delineated in Bagge’s glorious, laugh-out-loud stretchy 4-color cartoon style, making even his disquisitions on some very serious topics go down as smoothly as Buddy Bradley’s latest escapade.
“Like all good political cartoonists, Bagge can be cruel. But he’s also willing to skewer himself when he deserves it... as libertarian polemicists go, he’s a lot more fun than, say, Ayn Rand.” – The Washington Post
“...[T]his collection of a decade of Peter Bagge's cartoons for Reason magazine is a page-turner... His investigative reports are hilarious, including his attempts to be even-handed in his coverage... This is Bagge at his best with his astute observations on society unfiltered...” – Brent Frankenhoff, Comics Buyer's Guide
#14, Best Archival/Reprints of 2009, The Comics Reporter
#4 comic of the year – Bob Fingerman, The Daily Cross Hatch, "The Best Damned Comics of 2009 Chosen by the Artists"
Download an EXCLUSIVE 12-page PDF excerpt from the "Stupid War" chapter (2.5 MB).
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2010 Eisner Award Nominee: Best Humor Publication
